Aurora man charged with 'smash and grab' burglary of St. Charles store

39 year old Aurora man who was arrested after he was observed throwing a large rock through the front window of the NAPA Auto Parts Store in St. Charles. Mark E. Swienton, of 1331 Monomoy Street, Aurora, was taken into custody at the scene by police officers who were conducting surveillance.

ST. CHARLES – A 49-year-old Aurora man charged with breaking into a St. Charles auto parts store Friday night also is a suspect in other smash-and-grab burglaries in the area, including Geneva and Aurora, according to the St. Charles Police Department.

Mark E. Swienton, of the 1300 block of Monomoy Street, was being held on $130,000 bond at the Kane County Correctional Center. He would need to post $13,000 bail to be released, St. Charles police spokesman Paul McCurtain said.

“He’s being looked at for a number of smash and grabs that have occurred in the area,” McCurtain said.

McCurtain said a cash drawer and money were stolen last week from Valley Spring Auto Spa, 3255 W. Main St. in St. Charles.

In Geneva, a Citgo gas station in the 600 block of South First Street was burglarized in the early morning hours before 5 a.m. March 15, Geneva police have reported. Police have said a cash register containing an unknown amount of cash was taken.

Surveillance videos reportedly showed a male subject driving an older model Chevrolet Prizm with body damage to the left rear and a missing right rear hubcap. An Aurora police officer conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle matching that description, and a court order for a tracking device was issued, St. Charles police said.

Using the tracking device, officers from the Aurora Police Department reportedly followed Swienton into St. Charles on Friday.

About 10 p.m., McCurtain said, the officers watched Swienton throw a large rock through the window of NAPA Auto Parts, 201 S. Third St., and enter the business through the broken window.

The officers followed, announced their presence and ordered Swienton to the ground, McCurtain said. He noted St. Charles officers responded to the scene to assist.

Swienton resisted arrest by pushing and hitting the two officers, McCurtain said.

Swienton was taken to Delnor Hospital for treatment of minor cuts and bruises, McCurtain said. He did not know whether Swienton was injured by the broken window or during his scuffle with the police.

He was charged with burglary and resisting arrest. He is expected in court April 3.

Swienton has a history of burglary and residential burglary and has been on parole for burglary since February 2012, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections.

• Note to readers – the online version of this story has been edited to correct an error.